The Birds

Just as horrifying as the Hitchcock classic, The Birds climbs the offwidth towards the top of the gully. If you dare to climb this, you will be blessed with guano and bird crap on every jug, the stench associated with such, and ample dirt, lichen and loose rock. The crux is the traverse to the squeeze chimney. Clean up with more ascents? Only if people start climbing with power washers and soap!

Hike through the poison ivy towards the top of the gully. Look for the wide crack to the left of a severely overhanging face. Start in the corner and climb into the crack. Traverse left at the fork in the crack, climb around the arete (exposed) and squeeze into the chimney for the exit. You can walk over to the top of the gully and hike down, or you can walk over to the anchors for The Wraith (20 feet to the southeast) and rappel off.

Bring lots of WIDE gear, this is a full on fatty. I plugged smaller pieces every chance I got in order to hold my largest gear in reserve. My #5 C4 was barely big enough to protect the exit moves (I need to purchase that #6!). Bring lots of super long slings for the anchor up top--the best boulder to sling is a long way from the edge. Make sure to protect the traverse before traversing!